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Evolution is species changing over time.
Here is how evolution fits into the framework we are using in this part of our unit.
Natural selection is a mechanism for evolution.
This means that one of the ways that species change is because environments change and only the organisms with the right adaptations survive to reproduce. Therefore, over time, the adaptations that organisms have change so much (to fit their changing environment) that they become new species.
Part 1: Snurfle Island
This is a Snurfle.
Play the Snurfle Islands simulation (link below), take the Snurfle online quiz, and answer all the questions in your journal.
*always ALLOW and ACCEPT any prompts
**make sure you are playing through Google Chrome or on a Chromebook
A few things you should know:
When choosing adaptations, it’ll cost you survival points! So choose wisely!
Once on the island, you need to search out the fruit to eat. Each fruit is worth 10 survival points.
You need to find a mate to produce offspring, but you’ll only be able to produce offspring if you have a net gain of survival points at the end.
More survival points = more offspring!
Pre-Snurfle Questions (Write "Pre-Snurfle Questions" and respond in your journal):
What is evolution (use the "background" button for help)?
What are some key facts about natural selection? Use the following words: offspring, population, adaptations, limited resources, survival, reproduce, and genetic changes.
What is the goal of the Snurfle Islands game?
Post-Snurfle Questions (Write "Post-Snurfle Questions" and respond in journals):
Which island needed the least amount of adaptations? Why?
Which island needed the most adaptations? Why?
What did you find to be the most beneficial adaptation overall? Why?
What did you find to be the least beneficial adaptation overall? Why?
What were some constraints (limiting factors) Snurfles face in their lives?
Why is natural selection sometimes referred to as "survival of the fittest?"
If you finish all the islands and all the questions early do the following:
PhET – Natural Selection simulator
*try different traits to either take over the world or get balanced populations
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/natural-selection
** EXPLORE THESE TOO
SEPUP – Bird and environment
http://sepuplhs.org/high/sgi/teachers/evolution_act11_sim.html
Glencoe – Natural Selection with graphing
http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/LS06/LS06.html
Utah site – natural selection – lots of background info and examples
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/selection/
* if you get done with all this go back and play “Snurfle Island” some more to try to find something new
Part 2: Evolution Notes
Write the following notes in your journal.
Evolution = Change in species over time
Mechanisms for Evolution:
Mutation
Migration
Genetic Drift (random chance)
Natural Selection
View images and descriptions of all these mechanisms here.
Evidence for Evolution (FAME):
Fossils
Anatomy
Molecules
Embryos
1. Fossils: Fossils change a little bit in each rock layer - oldest fossils are deeper.
2. Anatomy: Structures in different organisms are compared to find relationships.
Homologous Structures=Similar body parts in different organisms
Analogous Structures=Parts in different organisms that have the same function
Vestigial Structures=A part of an organism that has lost its function over time
3. Molecules: Different species have similar DNA.
4. Embryos: The embryos of different species have similarities.
Observations of evolution in relatively short time frames:
Galapagos Finches Caught in the Act of Becoming a New Species article
shampoo-resistant lice
Optional: read chapter 6, "Evolution" from the textbook.
Optional: https://www.pathwayz.org/Tree/Plain/EVIDENCE+FOR+EVOLUTION
Optional: read WA State evolution science standards
Famous scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson said, "When you have an established ... scientific truth, it is true whether or not you believe in it ..." and "...[T]his is science. It's not something to say I choose not to believe that e=mc^2 ... you don't have that option."
Part 3: One More Reason
Evolution has led to tens of millions of different species living on Earth now and in the past.
Watch and listen to 20 Million Reasons music video. (music only - lyrics only)
See the Port Angeles Procession of the Species website and the Olympia Procession of the Species website for some background.
Following the guidelines in the "20 Million Reasons" song, write a new verse.
Part 4: Evolution Game
Watch the Recipe for Evolution slideshow.
Can you evolve?
This is a rock-paper-scissors tournament game that models evolution.
The following body movements represent different stages of evolution:
Crouched close to the ground with your hand as a dorsal fin above your head is sharks, a species that branched off early on.
Crouched down but with your arms making swimming motions is lungfish.
Standing with your arms out to the side like newt legs is amphibians.
Standing with your arm as an elephant trunk is mammals.
To play the game:
You have to find someone at the same level as you and challenge them to one round of rock-paper-scissors (everyone starts out as sharks).
Whoever wins gets to 'evolve' up into the next category, making their way to the most evolved species, where you stay until you lose.
If you lose a round, then you go all the way back to the beginning stage (sharks).
Occasionally some natural disaster (meteor strikes earth; wildfire; disease) could strike and everyone resets to shark.
Debrief Questions:
How easy was it for you to make it all the way to the most evolved state?
Does this mirror what we see in the natural world?
After more experience playing the game, did you come up with some strategy that helped you win?
Do you think this could be seen in the sophistication of more evolved species?
How did it make you feel when a natural disaster struck?
Note: Evolution does not always lead to better - it is just change over time.
Part 5: Galapagos
The Galapagos Islands off Ecuador famously provided an outdoor laboratory for Charles Darwin as he developed his theory of evolution by natural selection.
If you will watch the short movie (~15 minutes), watch the movie, then read the Finches Caught in the Act of Becoming a New Species article, then answer the following questions in your journal.
When did a lone new male of a different species arrive on the island?
When the male mated with the local finch females what trait did the offspring have?
What was considered surprising about the rate of evolution occurring?
Why is there not a strict rule anymore (more of a "guideline") about the definition of species?
What evidence did scientists use to show the new finch was really a different species?
What major advantage allowed the new hybrids to survive?
Hybridization of genes may be faster than what usual process for evolution?
After reading and answering questions, review the questions and answers with the Finches Caught in the Act PowerPoint.
If you will watch the full movie (~60 minutes), create the following table in your journal and leave at least 3 lines in each row.
While you are watching the full Voyage to the Galapagos Movie (~60 min), fill in the table.
For more information on observable examples of evolution in action, read this 2018 article on gene transfer as a mechanism for evolution.
Part 6: Fossil and Embryo Evidence for Evolution
Play the "Embryo Evidence" and "Fossil Evidence" playlists from "Legends of Learning."
Go to the following site, click the "Student" portal, and enter code LIEBE2.
Then click the playlist shown.
Then, click "Sign Up" and create a login using your first name and last initial and password (write these in your journal for future use).
Evolution Extension 1: Evolution Art
Read general information on evolution, including common misconceptions, on this University of California, Berkeley webpage.
View the "Tree of Life PowerPoint" by North Cascades Institute graduate student Holli Watne.
Then make a piece of art incorporating at least two elements from each of the two resources above.
Evolution Extension 2: Evolution as Scientific Truth
Watch the following videos and then write one paragraph for each video summarizing the video and citing evidence from the video to support a claim about why you think this video should or should not be used to teach SMS students the state science standards.
Evolution Extension 3: High School Level Evolution Material
Go through the high school Evolution PowerPoint and complete the worksheet.
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